Common acronyms used in the MS world (see what I did there)

A reader who is a newb (new person) commented I should write a post about the common acronyms in the MS game.  So here we go.  Bookmark this one folks!

2bbm, 3bbm, etc – Stands for 2 browser browser method.  Used to be popular way to apply for multiples of the same card on same day. Used in sentence – “The 2bbm method doesn’t really work anymore these days.”

AGC – American Express gift cards.  A popular method to MS since portals can pay out up to 2.25% for the purchase.  Used in sentence – “I don’t know why I can never buy a $2,000 business AGC.”

A+ – Not a grade.  Refers to the Barclays Arrival Plus credit card.  Used in sentence – “I used to love my A+, but now with the new 2.1% rebate, I think I’ll cancel and get it again for the bonus down the road.”

AA – Depending on context.  Could mean American Airlines or ‘Adverse Action.”  Used in sentence – “I hope there’s no AA for me charging $10K on my Chase Ink card in the first 3 months.”

AEGC – Not to be confused with AGC.  These are the ones found in grocery stores.  Used in sentence – “I have no idea how to liquidate AEGC’s.”

AF – Annual Fee.  Used in sentence – “I called to cancel the card when my AF hit.”

AP – Amazon Payments.  Used in sentence – “People used to be able to score a free 1K miles/points each month using AP before it got killed.”

AoR – App-o-rama aka applying for a bunch of credit cards on the same day in hopes of high success rate.  Used in sentence – “It probably doesn’t make sense to do AoR’s anymore.”

AS – Alaska Airlines.  Used in sentence – “I can redeem 70K AS miles to fly from the US to South Africa in First Class?  Whaaaaat?”

AU – Authorized Users.  Used in sentence – “AMEX changed their business AU process.”

AW – AwardWallet – A handy tool to track all of your miles and points.  Used in sentence – “I’m sure glad I have AW since they let me know when my points expire.”

AXON – Referring to a Hilton discount to AMEX HH cardmembers.  Used in sentence – “Hmm maybe I should stay 4 nights at the Hilton to get the AXON rate.”

BA – British Airways.  Popular due to their distance based chart and alliance with Alaska Airlines.  Used in sentence – “I just used 7500 BA avios to get from Seattle to Los Angeles.”

BoA – Bank of America.  Used in sentence – “BoA is the only churnable bank left.”

BB or BBY – Best Buy.  Usually only heard when there is an AMEX Offer for Best Buy.  Used in sentence – “Man, I went to BB to buy some VGC using my AMEX offer but they never have any in stock.”

BB – Bluebird aka the first AMEX reloadable prepaid product that is used to load at WMT.  Used in sentence – “I just went to the armpit of America to reload my BB and the cashier wouldn’t let me use a VGC.  Went home empty handed.”

BBP – AMEX Blue for Business Plus credit card.  Used in sentence – “The BBP is great because you can get a 0% ‘loan’ for 12 months.”

BBR – Bank of America’s Better Balance Rewards credit card.  Used in sentence – “I’ve tried 10 times to get BoA to convert my AS to the BBR card and have failed.”

BCP – AMEX Blue Cash Preferred card.  6% at grocery up to $6K.  Used in sentence – “Hey at least I get 1 free year of Amazon Prime with signup for the BCP card.”

BF – Befrugal cashbackportal.  Used in sentence – “Some people prefer TCB over BF since TCB pays out a little faster than BF.”

BRG – AMEX Business Rewards Gold card OR Best Rate Guarantee from various companies like IHG, Orbitz, Hyatt, etc.  Used in sentence – “I used BRG to get my hotel room from $200 down to $100.”

Buxx – Usually referred to the NW Buxx reloadable card but it could also be the US Bank Buxx card for the old timers out there.  Used in sentence – “How do I get more teens so I can have more Buxx cards?”

CA – Cash Advance fee.  The bane of MS.  Used in sentence – “People used to be worried about buying AGC using Citi cards due to Citi charging CA fees.”

CB – Cashback.  Used in sentence – “I have so many miles and points that I’ve switched to cb cards.”

CC – Depends on context.  Could be ‘credit card’ or Club Carlson.  Used in sentence – “The CC card was great until they removed the free night benefit.”

CFP – Checkfree Pay.  Popular method to pay bills at WMT and groc stores.  Used in sentence – “If you go over a certain CFP amount, they will ask you for SSN at WMT.”

CFPB – Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.  Used in sentence – “When all else fails, file a CFPB against that company.”

CL – Credit Line.  Used in sentence – “Man, why does Discover give out the lowest CL’s of all the banks?”

CP – Southwest Companion Pass.  Used in sentence – “Let me apply for the 2 Chase SW cards in December so I can get the CP for 2 full years.”

CPM – Cents per Mile.  Used in sentence – “When I use my Ink at Staples, I am paying 0.7 cpm per UR.”

CR – Credit Report.  Used in sentence – “Capital One usually pulls from all 3 CR’s, so you better make it worth it.”

CSP – Chase Sapphire – Used in sentence – “Good luck signing up for the CSP if you’ve had more than 5 cards in the last 2 years.”

CSR – Customer Service rep.  Used in sentence – “Every time I try to load BB at the register, the cashier tells me to go to the CSR desk.”

CU – Credit Union.  Used in sentence – “Wow I found a CU that gives points on debit card purchases.”

CX – Cathay Pacific.  Used in sentence – “I wish CX would stock more bottles of Krug in first class.”

DAL – Delta Airlines.  Used in sentence – “Skymiles may get a bad rap, but DAL is a solid airline.”

DoC – Refers to blogger Doctor of Credit.  Used in sentence – “Did you see DoC’s post on ______?”

DC – Refers to the Citi Double Cash credit card that gives you 1% on purchase and 1% on the payment.  Used in sentence – “I keep trying to decide if I should use my DC or A+ card.”

DD – Discover Deals portal.  Used in sentence – “Man, I hope Discover actually pays out the double bonus next year for all my DD cashback.”

DDF – Dan’s Deals Forums.  Used in sentence – “You can find some great info from DDF.”

DL – Driver’s License.  Used in sentence – “Every time I buy a VGC at Kroger, they ask for my DL.”

DYKWIA – DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM.  Used in sentence – “What?  I’m not upgraded?  DYKWIA?!?!”

EDP – AMEX Everyday Preferred card.  Used in sentence – “I use my EDP to get 3X at groceries, up to $6K a year.”

EK – Airline code for Emirates.  Used in sentence – “I love flying on the EK A380 with the showers.”

EQ – Equifax credit report.  Used in sentence – “More banks pull from EX than EQ, but it really depends on where you live.”

EX – Experian credit report.  Used in sentence – “AMEX and Chase usually pull EX.”

EY – Airline code for Etihad.  Used in sentence – “The most aspirational airline redemption is on the EY A380 First Apartments.”

FA – Depends on context.  Could be a flight attendant or a Fraud Alert.  Used in sentence – “I hate my WF 5% cb card with a passion since I get FA’ed all the time.”

FBA – Fulfillment by Amazon.  Like Ebay but without dealing with customers.  Used in sentence – “I ship everything to FBA now.”

FHR – Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts.  Used in sentence – “Some people like to use FHR at nice restaurants since it sometimes comes with a spa/breakfast package.”

FIA – A bank that issues the popular FIA AMEX 2% card.  Used in sentence – “I used to use my FIA card a lot but now that AGC has ended, I’m going to sock drawer it.

FM – Refers to blogger Frequent Miler or grocery chain Fred Meyer owned by Kroger. Used in sentence – “I’m excited for FM to make it to Nekker Island.”

FR – Financial Review from AMEX.  Used in sentence – “If you spend too much too fast on a new AMEX, you may get FR’ed.”

FT – Flyertalk.  Where the MS universe was born.  Used in sentence – “Did you read the FT wiki?”

FW or FWF – Fatwallet or Fatwallet Finance.  Used in sentence – “Who still goes onto FW?”

FWIW – For What it’s Worth.  Used in sentence – “My kate is usually always down, but it was up last night fwiw.”

GC – gift card.  Used in sentence – “GC churning is a waste of my time.”

GD – Green Dot.  Used in sentence – “They used to be a great play when Rite Aid allowed purchases of GD with cc.”

GGD – Gas, Groceries, Drugstores.  Popular categories for certain cc’s like the OBC.  Used in sentence – “Man, I wish I had another card that gave bonus points at GGD.”

GCM – Giftcardmall.com.  Used in sentence – “GCM doesn’t take AGC anymore and so it’s not worth my time.”

GoC – Gift of College cards.  Used in sentence – “Let me go buy a GoC card and pay my tuition with it.”

GW – Google Wallet.  Used in sentence – “GW shut me down and now I can’t even buy stuff on the Play store anymore.”

HH – Depends on context. Could be ‘heavy hitter’ or Hilton Honors – Used in sentence -“I’d be lucky to get 0.4c of value out of my HH points, but I’m no hh when it comes to MS’ing HH.”

HIGC – Home Improvement Gift Card.  Variable card sold at OD that can be used at Sears, HD, Lowes, etc.  Used in sentence – “I still can’t believe for 2-3 days there back in 2013(?), people were able to unload these HIGC at WMT as a real debit card.”

HP – Hard Pull – Used in sentence – “Did opening that credit union do a HP or did they just run Chexx?”

HUCA – Hang Up Call Again – Used in sentence – “Chase wouldn’t approve me for the Ink card, so I HUCA 5 times before finding a rep who would approve me.”

IHG – Intercontinental Hotel Group.  Used in sentence – “The Chase IHG card’s $49 AF may be worth keeping each year due to the 1 free night anniversary night anywhere.”

Ink – Refers to Chase Ink business card.  Popular since you get 5X UR at Staples.  Used in sentence – “I don’t even bother Ink’ing at Staples anymore since I don’t know what to do with my UR points.”

JAL – Referred to Japan Airlines.  Used in sentence – “JAL has a pretty good first class product.”

J4U – Safeway’s rewards program.  Used in sentence – “Load the coupon from the J4U app to get 20% off Gap gift cards.”

Kate – Kiosk At The Entrance.  Those money machines at Wmt that lets you load your BB.  Used in sentence – “My Kate is always down.”

KE – Airline code for Korean Airlines.  Used in sentence – “Chase UR will sometimes take down transfers to KE.”

MGC – Stands for Mastercard Gift Card.  Used in sentence – “You should stop buying MGC’s since they take an additional step to load at Wmt.”

MIR – Mail in Rebate.  Used in sentence – “Reselling software on Newegg that is $0 MIR is a good small time play.”

MPD – BOOM!  Your’s truly.  Used in sentence – “I don’t know how MPD makes money off his blog.”

MMS – Refers to blogger Million Miles Secrets.  Used in sentence – “They hate us cuz they anus.”  – not a real quote from MMS

MO – Money Order.  Used in sentence – “Hi, can I buy 2 MO’s each for $999.30?”

MR – Depends on context.   Could be ‘mileage run’ or AMEX’s transferable Membership Rewards program.  Used in sentence – “I couldn’t get in on the AMEX 150K MR Business Platinum offer before it died.”

MS – NOT Microsoft.  Stands for Manufactured Spend aka fake spending on your credit card to generate miles, points, or cash.  Used in sentence – “How much do you ms per month?”

NWB – Northwest Buxx cards.  See Buxx above.  Used in sentence – “How do I get more NWB cards?”

OA – Online Arbitrage.  Used for type of reselling.  Used in sentence – “I mostly do OA since I can get portal points.”

OBC – Refers to AMEX’s Old Blue Cash card that gave an unlimited 5% at grocery stores – Used in sentence – “I hit my OBC so hard that they shut me down in October 2014.”

OD – OfficeDepot – Used in sentence – “Why can’t OD have the same $20 off $300 offers like OM?”

OM – OfficeMax – Used in sentence – “Why can’t I find an OM around me, but there is an OD next door to my work?”

OTA – Online Travel Agent like Orbitz, Expedia, etc.  Used in sentence – “Sometimes, booking through a different country’s OTA will save you money.”

OV – One Vanilla gift cards – Used in sentence – “I buy OV from drugstores, but they don’t work at WMT.”

PC – Not the computer.  Refers to Product Change.  Used in sentence – “You should PC your Chase Sapphire to the Freedom when the AF is due.”

PITA – Pain in the Ass.  Used in sentence – “It’s a PITA when someone hacks your USB VGC.”

PM – Pricematch.  Used in sentence – “Let me pm Staples to Amazon and use a coupon code while I’m at it.”

PO – Post Office.  Used in sentence – “I buy stamps at the PO.”

POS – Point of Sale terminal.  Used in sentence – “The new Target POS update has made loading RB so painful.”

PP – Paypal.  Used in sentence – “My PP stock isn’t doing so well.”

PPDG – Paypal Digital Gifts.  Paypal’s storefront for selling gift cards on Ebay.  Used in sentence – “I can’t buy anymore from PPDG, and I can’t figure out why.”

PPBDC – Paypal Business Debit Card.  Earns 1% on signature transactions.  Used in sentence – “I stopped using my PPBDC when Paypal warned me twice to stop loading with MyCash.”

PPEMC – Paypal Extras Mastercard.  Used in sentence – “I don’t have the PPEMC, but maybe I should get one.”

PPMC – Paypal MyCash loadable card.  Used in sentence – “If you value your Paypal account, you’ll stop loading PPMC cards.”

PRG – AMEX Premier Rewards Gold card.  Used in sentence – “I get 3X MR on airfare when I use my PRG card.”

RA – Rite Aid or Retail Arbitrage.  Used in sentence – “RA now allows you to buy $3K of VGC per day [includes fees].  Also, RA is usually too expensive to do RA.”

RB – Another AMEX reloadable prepaid product.  Target’s version of Bluebird.  Used in sentence – “I love loading my RB at Target just so I can avoid the armpit of America.”

RIT – Reloadit Cards.  Used in sentence – “Some Safeway stores will still let you buy RIT’s with a cc.”

SBC – Simply Best Coupons cashback portal.  Used in sentence – “SBC was another great AGC portal.”

SBS – AMEX Small Business Saturday.  Basically the Black Friday for MS’ers.  Used in sentence – “I cleaned up on SBS.”

SC – AMEX Business Simply Cash card.  5% at office supply stores, up to $25K a year.  Used in sentence – “I can’t believe the AMEX SC has no annual fee.”

SD -Slickdeals. Used in sentence – “I use SD to find things to resell.”

Serve – Yet another AMEX reloadable prepaid product.  There are now 3 flavors.  Used in sentence – “Have you loaded your BB/RB/Serve this month?”

SGC – Simon Mall Gift Card .  Used in sentence – “I miss the days when I could buy SGC with AGC.”

SM – Secure Message on bank sites.  Used in sentence – “I’m too lazy to call so I’ll just SM Chase.”

SPG – Starwoods Preferred Guest – Used in sentence – “SPG points are so hard to accumulate.”

SQ – Singapore Airlines – Used in sentence – “Yes, SQ is the one with the double beds in Suites class.“

SSN – social security number.  Used in sentence – “Man, how can I get more SSN’s so I can open more RB cards?”

STFU – “Shut the F Up”.  Used in sentence – “Bloggers need to STFU about these deals.”

SW or SWA – Southwest Airlines.  Used in sentence – “I feel treated like cattle when I fly on SW.”

TC – Travelcodex.  Not the site, the forums.  Used in sentence – “So how many likes do I need to get into the secret forums?”

TCB – Topcashback.  One of the most popular portals.  Used in sentence – “I sure hope TCB tracks my AGC order.”

TL;DR – Too Long; Didn’t Read.  Used in sentence – “Did anyone see the Twitter war between those 2 bloggers?”  No, can you TL;DR me?

TPG – The Points Guy blogger.  Used in sentence – “Boy, that TPG guys sure loves to pimp the Chase Sapphire card.”

TU – Transunion credit report.  Used in sentence – “TU may be the last bureau that you can still do bumpage.”

TYP – Citi’s transferable point program Thank You Points.  Used in sentence – “I used to not care about TYP, but now that they have Singapore Airlines as a partner and I can redeem them at 1.6X on AA flights, I’m racking them up!”

UA – United Airlines.  Used in sentence – “After the devaluation last year, I can’t seem to ever redeem my UA miles.”

UR – Chase Ultimate Rewards, a popular transferrable points program.  Used in sentence – “The only valuable program to transfer UR is now Hyatt.”

USB – Usually referred to US Bank.  Used in sentence – “I sure wish I could go back in time and gotten more USB Buxx accounts.”

VGC – Stands for Visa Gift Card.  Used in sentence – “I just bought $2,000 of VGC’s at Kroger.”

VLO – Visa Local Offers by Uber.  Used in sentence – “Oh look, my favorite restaurant is on VLO, and I get 10% back as Uber credit.”

VR – Vanilla Reload.  Used in sentence – “Man I miss the days when I could buy VR at OD and get 5X on Ink UR.”

WF – Wells Fargo.  Used in sentence – “Gawd, I really do hate all the FA’s on my WF 5% card.”

WMT – The armpit of America.  Used in sentence – “I always question why I MS after leaving a WMT”

YMMV – Your Mileage May Vary.  Means it’s different for everyone. Used in sentence – “Buying gift cards with a credit card at Safeway is very YMMV.”

If you haven’t noticed, I left out airport codes since that’s just too many.

I had no idea this post would be THIS MASSIVE.  It kept growing and growing.  If I missed one, lmk in the comments.